Cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and parents thereof

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a cucumber plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another cucumber plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and theinbred cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a cucumber plant of thehybrid designated SV7237CN, the cucumber line API45-12T0016GY orcucumber APD74-12T014MO. Also provided are cucumber plants having allthe physiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant.Parts of these cucumber plants are also provided, for example, includingpollen, an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of cucumber hybrid SV7237CNand/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO comprising anadded heritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise agenetic locus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. Inone embodiment of the invention, a plant of cucumber hybrid SV7237CNand/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO is defined ascomprising a single locus conversion. In specific embodiments of theinvention, an added genetic locus confers one or more traits such as,for example, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance,and modified carbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the traitmay be conferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into thegenome of a line by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or atransgene introduced through genetic transformation techniques into theplant or a progenitor of any previous generation thereof. Whenintroduced through transformation, a genetic locus may comprise one ormore genes integrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and/orcucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. The cucumber seed ofthe invention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous populationof cucumber seed of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber linesAPI45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. Essentially homogeneous populationsof seed are generally free from substantial numbers of other seed.Therefore, seed of hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GYand APD74-12T014MO may be defined as forming at least about 97% of thetotal seed, including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. Theseed population may be separately grown to provide an essentiallyhomogeneous population of cucumber plants designated SV7237CN and/orcucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a cucumber plant of hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber linesAPI45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating cucumber plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid SV7237CNand/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO include thosetraits set forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in suchtissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides cucumberplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybridSV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing cucumber seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent cucumber plant with a second parentcucumber plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parentcucumber plants is a plant of cucumber line API45-12T0016GY or cucumberAPD74-12T014MO. These processes may be further exemplified as processesfor preparing hybrid cucumber seed or plants, wherein a first cucumberplant is crossed with a second cucumber plant of a different, distinctgenotype to provide a hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant ofcucumber line API45-12T0016GY or cucumber APD74-12T014MO. In theseprocesses, crossing will result in the production of seed. The seedproduction occurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent cucumber plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent cucumber plants into plants that bear flowers. A thirdstep may comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent cucumber plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent cucumber plants.The harvested seed can be grown to produce a cucumber plant or hybridcucumber plant.

The present invention also provides the cucumber seeds and plantsproduced by a process that comprises crossing a first parent cucumberplant with a second parent cucumber plant, wherein at least one of thefirst or second parent cucumber plants is a plant of cucumber hybridSV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. Inone embodiment of the invention, cucumber seed and plants produced bythe process are first generation (F₁) hybrid cucumber seed and plantsproduced by crossing a plant in accordance with the invention withanother, distinct plant. The present invention further contemplatesplant parts of such an F₁ hybrid cucumber plant, and methods of usethereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments of the inventionprovide an F₁ hybrid cucumber plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber linesAPI45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO, the method comprising the steps of:(a) preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid SV7237CN and/orcucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO, wherein saidpreparing comprises crossing a plant of the hybrid SV7237CN and/orcucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO with a second plant;and (b) crossing the progeny plant with itself or a second plant toproduce a seed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation. In furtherembodiments, the method may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progenyplant of a subsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of asubsequent generation and crossing the progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration with itself or a second plant; and repeating the steps for anadditional 3-10 generations to produce a plant derived from hybridSV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. Theplant derived from hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GYand APD74-12T014MO may be an inbred line, and the aforementionedrepeated crossing steps may be defined as comprising sufficientinbreeding to produce the inbred line. In the method, it may bedesirable to select particular plants resulting from step (c) forcontinued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). By selecting plantshaving one or more desirable traits, a plant derived from hybridSV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO isobtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of the line/hybridas well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of cucumberhybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY andAPD74-12T014MO, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and(b) collecting at least one cucumber from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement ofcucumber hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY andAPD74-12T014MO is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used torefer to the aggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of whichsequences defines the phenotype of, in the present case, a cucumberplant, or a cell or tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thusrepresents the genetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybridgenetic complement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell,tissue or plant. The invention thus provides cucumber plant cells thathave a genetic complement in accordance with the cucumber plant cellsdisclosed herein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid SV7237CN and/or cucumber linesAPI45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO could be identified by any of themany well known techniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence LengthPolymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 18:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science,280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by cucumber plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a cucumber plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second cucumber plant, preferably, another, distinctcucumber plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides acucumber plant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybridgenetic complement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN, cucumber lineAPI45-12T0016GY and cucumber APD74-12T014MO.

Cucumber hybrid SV7237CN, also known as 13-M3-POP-0502, is a gynoeciousAmerican pickling cucumber hybrid for open field production. The planthabit is indeterminate and it produces predominantly female flowers. Thehybrid can be blended with a monoecious pollinator for optimumproduction. It has higher levels of resistance to the fungal pathogenDowny mildew, compared to existing hybrids in the market, i.e.,Expedition and Vlaspik. In addition to Downy mildew resistance it mayalso have resistance to anthracnose, angular leaf spot, powdery mildew,scab, and cucumber mosaic virus. The plant produces concentrated fruitswith an LD of 3-3.1 and is suitable for machine harvest or hand harvestin situations where long fruits are desired. Fruits of this hybrid aredark green in color and have an attractive, blocky shape with bluntends.

A. Origin and Breeding History of Cucumber Hybrid SV7237CN

The parents of hybrid SV7237CN are API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO.The parent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybrid producedtherefrom. A small percentage of variants can occur within commerciallyacceptable limits for almost any characteristic during the course ofrepeated multiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Cucumber HybridSV7237CN, Cucumber Line API45-12T0016GY and Cucumber APD74-12T014MO

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and the parent linesthereof. A description of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of such plants is presented in Tables 1-3.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of HybridSV7237CN Characteristic SV7237CN Expedition 1. Type predominant usagepickling pickling predominant culture outdoor outdoor 2. Maturity daysfrom seeding to market 63 63   maturity 3. Plant habit vine vinecotyledon: bitterness present absent growth type indeterminateindeterminate time of development of female early early flowers (80% ofplants with at least one female flower) sex 100% gynoecious 100%gynoecious (plant species with all female flowers on the same plant) sexexpression gynoecious (all nodes gynoecious have only female flowers;under certain conditions, i.e., darkness, cold, chemical treatment, afew male flowers will develop number of female flowers per node mostly 1mostly 1 to 2 flower color yellow yellow flower color (RHS color chart 13A  12A value) 4. Main Stem main stem length 94.9 cm 110.4 cm numberof nodes from cotyledon   1.5 1.1 leaves to node bearing the firstpistillate flower internode length 4.5 cm 3.8 cm stem form grooved,ridged grooved, ridged plant: total length of first 15 medium longinternodes leaf blade: attitude erect horizontal 5. Leaf mature blade ofthird leaf: leaf 143.6 mm 142.8 mm length mature blade of third leaf:leaf 149.7 mm 149.4 mm width mature blade of third leaf: petiole 12.1 cm13.6 cm length length long long ratio length of terminal lobe/lengthmedium medium of blade shape of apex of terminal lobe right-angledright-angled intensity of green color very dark very dark blisteringstrong strong undulation of margin moderate strong dentation of marginstrong strong ovary: color of vestiture white white 6. Fruit Setparthenocarpy present absent length medium medium 7. Fruit at ediblematurity: fruit length 13.8 cm 13.2 cm diameter medium medium at ediblematurity: fruit diameter at 5.1 cm 4.9 cm medial ratio length/diameterlarge large core diameter in relation to medium medium diameter of fruitshape in transverse section round round to angular shape of stem endobtuse obtuse shape of calyx end obtuse rounded at edible maturity:fruit weight (gm) 215 gm 182.2 gm skin color/mottling mottled orspeckled mottled or speckled with yellow with yellow at edible maturity:yellowish extended more than extended more than blossom end stripes ⅓ ofthe fruit length ⅓ of the fruit length at edible maturity: predominantdark green dark green color at stem end at edible maturity: Predominant147A 139A color at stem end (RHS Color Chart value) at edible maturity:predominant medium green medium green color at blossom end at ediblematurity: predominant 144A 144A color at blossom end (RHS Color Chartvalue) at edible maturity: fruit neck shape not necked not necked atedible maturity: fruit tapering ends blunt or rounded ends blunt orrounded at edible maturity: stem end cross circular circular section atedible maturity: medial cross circular circular section at ediblematurity: blossom end circular circular cross section ground color ofskin at market stage green green intensity of ground color of skin lightlight (Excluding white varieties) at edible maturity: skin thicknessthick thin at edible maturity: (ribs in the skin) absent medium suturessutures are slightly present depressed in relation to the fruit surfacecreasing absent present at edible maturity: skin toughness tough tenderat edible maturity: skin luster dull dull at edible maturity: spinecolor white white at edible maturity: spine quality fine fine at ediblematurity: spine density few few type of vestiture prickles only pricklesonly density of vestiture sparse sparse color of vestiture (onlyvarieties white white with white ovary vestiture) warts absent absent atedible maturity: flavor bitterfree bitterfree length of stripes longvery long distribution of dots predominantly in evenly distributed bandslength of fruit containing dots whole length whole length density ofdots dense dense glaucosity absent or very weak absent or very weaklength of peduncle long medium ground color of skin at white yellowphysiological ripeness 8. Fruit seed at harvest maturity measurementsfruit seed length 0.94 cm 0.90 cm measurements fruit seed diameter at0.33 cm 0.36 cm medial color cream cream color RHS Color Chart value159C 158C color pattern not striped not striped surface smooth smoothnetting slight or none slight or none 9. Seeds number of seeds per fruit  39.8 127.7  grams per 1,000 seeds 29 33.2  *These are typical values.Values may vary due to environment. Other values that are substantiallyequivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics ofAPI45-12T0016GY Characteristic AP145-12T0016GY API-45-5298-GY 1. Typepredominant usage pickling pickling predominant culture outdoor outdoor2. Maturity days from seeding to market 61   68   maturity 3. Planthabit vine vine cotyledon: bitterness present absent growth typeindeterminate indeterminate time of development of female early earlyflowers (80% of plants with at least one female flower) sex 100%gynoecious 100% gynoecious (plant species with all female flowers on thesame plant) sex expression gynoecious (all nodes gynoecious have onlyfemale flowers; under certain conditions, i.e., darkness, cold, chemicaltreatment, a few male flowers will develop number of female flowers pernode mostly 1 mostly 1 flower color yellow yellow flower color (RHScolor chart  12A  9C value) 4. Main Stem main stem length 75.7 cm 94.6cm number of nodes from cotyledon  1.2  2.4 leaves to node bearing thefirst pistillate flower internode length 5.1 cm 4.8 cm stem formgrooved, ridged grooved, ridged plant: total length of first 15 mediummedium internodes leaf blade: attitude horizontal horizontal 5. Leafmature blade of third leaf: leaf 118.4 mm 117.2 mm length mature bladeof third leaf: leaf 123.5 mm 123.2 mm width mature blade of third leaf:petiole 10.8 cm 10.9 cm length length medium medium ratio length ofterminal lobe/length small small of blade shape of apex of terminal loberight-angled right-angled intensity of green color very dark darkblistering strong strong undulation of margin moderate moderatedentation of margin strong medium ovary: color of vestiture white white6. Fruit Set parthenocarpy absent absent length short short 7. Fruit atedible maturity: fruit length 11.0 cm 11.4 cm diameter medium medium atedible maturity: fruit diameter at 4.8 cm 4.7 cm medial ratiolength/diameter medium medium core diameter in relation to small smalldiameter of fruit shape in transverse section round round to angularshape of stem end obtuse obtuse shape of calyx end obtuse rounded atedible maturity: fruit weight (gm) 146.2  146.8  skin color/mottlingmottled or speckled mottled or speckled with yellow with yellow atedible maturity: yellowish extended less than extended more than blossomend stripes ⅓ of the fruit length ⅓ of the fruit length at ediblematurity: predominant dark green dark green color at stem end at ediblematurity: predominant 137A 147A color at stem end (RHS Color Chartvalue) at edible maturity: predominant medium green light green color atblossom end at edible maturity: predominant 144A 145A color at blossomend (RHS Color Chart value) at edible maturity: fruit neck shape notnecked not necked at edible maturity: fruit tapering ends blunt orrounded ends blunt or rounded at edible maturity: stem end crosscircular circular section at edible maturity: medial cross circularcircular section at edible maturity: blossom end circular circular crosssection ground color of skin at market stage green green intensity ofground color of skin medium medium (Excluding white varieties) at ediblematurity: skin thickness thin thin at edible maturity: (ribs in theskin) absent weak sutures present present creasing absent present atedible maturity: skin toughness tender tender at edible maturity: skinluster dull dull at edible maturity: spine color white white at ediblematurity: spine quality fine fine at edible maturity: spine density fewfew type of vestiture prickles only prickles only density of vestiturevery sparse sparse color of vestiture (only varieties white white withwhite ovary vestiture) warts absent absent at edible maturity: flavorbitter bitter length of stripes medium long dots present presentdistribution of dots predominantly in evenly distributed bands length offruit containing dots excluding area whole length around peduncledensity of dots medium medium glaucosity absent or very weak absent orvery weak length of peduncle medium long ground color of skin at yellowyellow physiological ripeness 8. Fruit seed at harvest maturitymeasurements fruit seed length 0.8 cm 0.9 cm measurements fruit seeddiameter at 0.3 cm 0.3 cm medial color cream cream color RHS Color Chartvalue 158C 159A color pattern not striped not striped surface smoothsmooth netting slight or none slight or none 9. Seeds number of seedsper fruit 60.1 51.5 grams per 1,000 seeds 24.0 26.0 *These are typicalvalues. Values may vary due to environment. Other values that aresubstantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

TABLE 3 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics ofAPD74-12T014MO APD-74-574-MO * Characteristic APD74-12T014MO HP 574 1.Type predominant usage pickling pickling predominant culture outdooroutdoor 2. Maturity days from seeding to market 61  61  maturity 3.Plant habit vine vine cotyledon: bitterness present absent growth typedeterminate determinate time of development of female late mediumflowers (80% of plants with at least one female flower) sex monoecious(male monoecious and female organs are found on the same plant but indifferent flowers) sex expression monoecious (all monoecious nodes onthe plant have both male and female flowers, with more male than femaleflowers on each node) number of female flowers per node mostly 1 mostly1 flower color yellow yellow flower color (RHS color chart  6A  7Avalue) 4. Main Stem main stem length 59 cm 63.4 cm number of nodes fromcotyledon  1.8  1.8 leaves to node bearing the first pistillate flowerinternode length 3.3 cm 4.2 cm stem form grooved, ridged grooved, ridgedplant: total length of first 15 medium medium internodes leaf blade:attitude horizontal horizontal 5. Leaf mature blade of third leaf: leaf105.8 mm 123.6 mm length mature blade of third leaf: leaf 107.9 mm 133.2mm width mature blade of third leaf: petiole 6.3 cm 9.2 cm length lengthmedium medium ratio length of terminal lobe/length small medium of bladeshape of apex of terminal lobe acute right-angled intensity of greencolor very dark very dark blistering very strong very strong undulationof margin strong strong dentation of margin medium medium ovary: colorof vestiture white white 6. Fruit Set parthenocarpy absent absent lengthshort short 7. Fruit at edible maturity: fruit length 11.8 cm 12.2 cmdiameter large large at edible maturity: fruit diameter at 4.1 cm 4.6 cmmedial ratio length/diameter large large core diameter in relation tolarge large diameter of fruit shape in transverse section round toangular round shape of stem end obtuse obtuse shape of calyx end roundedobtuse at edible maturity: fruit weight (gm) 123.5 155.8 skincolor/mottling mottled or speckled mottled or speckled with yellow withyellow at edible maturity: yellowish extended more than extended morethan blossom end stripes ⅓ of the fruit length ⅓ of the fruit length atedible maturity: predominant dark green dark green color at stem end atedible maturity: Predominant 147A 147A color at stem end (RHS ColorChart value) at edible maturity: predominant medium green medium greencolor at blossom end at edible maturity: predominant 143B 144B color atblossom end (RHS Color Chart value) at edible maturity: fruit neck shapenot necked not necked at edible maturity: fruit tapering ends blunt orrounded ends blunt or rounded at edible maturity: stem end crosscircular circular section at edible maturity: medial cross circularcircular section at edible maturity: blossom end circular circular crosssection ground color of skin at market stage green yellow intensity ofground color of skin light light (Excluding white varieties) at ediblematurity: skin thickness thin thin at edible maturity: (ribs in theskin) weak absent sutures sutures are slightly sutures are slightlydepressed in relation depressed in relation to the fruit surface to thefruit surface creasing present absent degree of creasing very weak n/aat edible maturity: skin toughness tender tender at edible maturity:skin luster dull dull at edible maturity: spine color white white atedible maturity: spine quality fine fine at edible maturity: spinedensity few few type of vestiture prickles only prickles only density ofvestiture very sparse sparse color of vestiture (only varieties whitewhite with white ovary vestiture) warts absent absent at ediblematurity: flavor bitterfree bitterfree length of stripes long mediumdistribution of dots predominantly in predominantly in bands bandslength of fruit containing dots excluding area excluding area aroundpeduncle around peduncle density of dots dense dense glaucosity absentor very weak medium length of peduncle medium long ground color of skinat yellow green physiological ripeness 8. Fruit seed at harvest maturitymeasurements fruit seed length 0.8 cm 0.80 cm measurements fruit seeddiameter at 0.29 cm 0.2 cm medial color cream cream color RHS ColorChart value 158A 159C color pattern not striped not striped surfacesmooth smooth netting slight or none slight or none 9. Seeds number ofseeds per fruit 173.6 152.8 grams per 1,000 seeds 19  24  * These aretypical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other values thatare substantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

C. Breeding Cucumber Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof cucumber hybrid SV7237CN involving crossing cucumber linesAPI45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. Alternatively, in other embodimentsof the invention, hybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, orAPD74-12T014MO may be crossed with itself or with any second plant. Suchmethods can be used for propagation of hybrid SV7237CN and/or thecucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO, or can be used toproduce plants that are derived from hybrid SV7237CN and/or the cucumberlines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. Plants derived from hybridSV7237CN and/or the cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MOmay be used, in certain embodiments, for the development of new cucumbervarieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid SV7237CN followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross withSV7237CN and/or cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO forthe purpose of developing novel cucumber lines, it will typically bepreferred to choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one ormore selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirabletraits may include, in specific embodiments, high seed yield, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance orresistance, and adaptability for soil and climate conditions.Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color, texture, and tasteare other examples of traits that may be incorporated into new lines ofcucumber plants developed by this invention.

D. Performance Characteristics

As described above, hybrid SV7237CN exhibits desirable traits, asconferred by cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO. Theperformance characteristics of hybrid SV7237CN was the subject of anobjective analysis of the performance traits relative to othervarieties. The results of the analysis are presented below.

TABLE 3 2014 Machine Harvest yield trials, Almond, WI Weight of Weightof WT. Wt. Wt. Wt. Wt. Wt. OS Cull 1A-3B bu/Acre 3A & 3B bu/Acre ofHybrid 1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 3B Wt. Wt. (g) 1A-3B (g) 3A & 3B L:D EXPEDITION157 221 273 1365 3839 5249 3390 1753 11103 426 9087 349 3.1 VLASPIK 143183 345 1073 2558 3027 2301 743 7329 281 5585 214 3.1 SV7237CN 214 251569 1334 2555 3685 1344 507 8609 330 6241 240 3.0

E. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those cucumber plants which are developed by aplant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all ofthe morphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentalcucumber plant which contributes the locus for the desiredcharacteristic is termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. Thisterminology refers to the fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used onetime in the backcross protocol and therefore does not recur. Theparental cucumber plant to which the locus or loci from the nonrecurrentparent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent as it is usedfor several rounds in the backcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a cucumber plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny cucumber plants of a backcross in which aplant described herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desiredtrait from the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiologicaland morphological characteristics of cucumber the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of cucumber plants for breeding is not necessarily dependenton the phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

F. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S);l the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a cucumber plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a cucumber plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

G. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent. Marker: A readily detectable phenotype,preferably inherited in codominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in adiploid heterozygote are readily detectable), with no environmentalvariance component, i.e., heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) color chart value: The RHS color chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS color chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a cucumbervariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a cucumber plant by transformation.

H. Deposit Information

A deposit of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN and cucumber lines API45-12T0016GYand APD74-12T014MO, disclosed above and recited in the claims, has beenmade with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBlvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of deposit was May 9, 2016.The accession numbers for those deposited seeds of cucumber hybridSV7237CN and cucumber lines API45-12T0016GY and APD74-12T014MO arePTA-123106, PTA-123104, and PTA-123107, respectively. Upon issuance of apatent, all restrictions upon the deposits will be removed, and thedeposits are intended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. §1.801-1.809. The deposits will be maintained in the depository for aperiod of 30 years, or 5 years after the last request, or for theeffective life of the patent, whichever is longer, and will be replacedif necessary during that period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cucumber plant comprising at least a first setof the chromosomes of cucumber line API45-12T0016GY or cucumber lineAPD74-12T014MO, a sample of seed of said lines having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number PTA-123104 and ATCC Accession NumberPTA-123107, respectively.
 2. A cucumber seed that produces the plant ofclaim
 1. 3. The plant of claim 1, which is an inbred.
 4. The plant ofclaim 1, which is a hybrid.
 5. The seed of claim 2, which is an inbred.6. The seed of claim 2, which is a hybrid.
 7. The plant of claim 4,wherein the hybrid plant is cucumber hybrid SV7237CN, a sample of seedof said hybrid SV7237CN having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-123106.
 8. The seed of claim 6, defined as a seed of cucumberhybrid SV7237CN, a sample of seed of said hybrid SV7237CN having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-123106.
 9. The seed of claim2, defined as a seed of line API45-12T0016GY or line APD74-12T014MO. 10.A plant part of the plant of claim 1, the plant part comprising said atleast a first set of the chromosomes of said cucumber lineAPI45-12T0016GY or cucumber line APD74-12T014MO.
 11. The plant part ofclaim 10, further defined as a leaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or acell.
 12. A cucumber plant having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the cucumber plant of claim
 7. 13. Atissue culture of regenerable cells of the plant of claim 1, theregenerable cells comprising said at least a first set of thechromosomes of said cucumber line API45-12T0016GY or cucumber lineAPD74-12T014MO.
 14. The tissue culture according to claim 13, comprisingcells or protoplasts from a plant part selected from the groupconsisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers,roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed and stalks.
 15. A cucumber plantregenerated from the tissue culture of claim
 13. 16. A method ofvegetatively propagating the cucumber plant of claim 1, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of beingpropagated from the plant according to claim 1; (b) cultivating saidtissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferatedshoots to obtain rooted plantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising growing at least a first cucumber plant from said rootedplantlets.
 18. A method of introducing a desired trait into a cucumberline, the method comprising: (a) utilizing as a recurrent parent a plantof either cucumber line API45-12T0016GY or cucumber line APD74-12T014MO,by crossing a plant of cucumber line API45-12T0016GY or cucumber lineAPD74-12T014MO with a second donor cucumber plant that comprises adesired trait to produce F1 progeny, a sample of seed of said lineshaving been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-123104, and ATCCAccession Number PTA-123107, respectively; (b) selecting an F1 progenythat comprises the desired trait; (c) backcrossing the selected F1progeny with a plant of the same cucumber line used as the recurrentparent in step (a), to produce backcross progeny; (d) selectingbackcross progeny comprising the desired trait and the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the recurrent parent cucumber line usedin step (a); and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times toproduce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny that comprise thedesired trait, and otherwise comprise all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the recurrent parent cucumber line usedin step (a).
 19. A method of producing a cucumber plant comprising anadded trait, the method comprising introducing by genetic transformationa transgene conferring the trait into a plant of cucumber hybridSV7237CN, cucumber line API45-12T0016GY, or cucumber lineAPD74-12T014MO, a sample of seed of said hybrid and lines having beendeposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-123106, ATCC Accession NumberPTA-123104, and ATCC Accession Number PTA-123107, respectively.
 20. Acucumber plant produced by the method of claim
 19. 21. A cucumber plantproduced by introducing a transgene into a plant of cucumber hybridSV7237CN, cucumber line API45-12T0016GY, or cucumber lineAPD74-12T014MO, wherein said plant comprises said transgene andotherwise comprises all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of cucumber hybrid SV7237CN, cucumber lineAPI45-12T0016GY, or cucumber line APD74-12T014MO, a sample of seed ofsaid hybrid and lines having been deposited under ATCC Accession NumberPTA-123106, ATCC Accession Number PTA-123104, and ATCC Accession NumberPTA-123107, respectively.
 22. The plant of claim 21, wherein thetransgene confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified proteinmetabolism.
 23. A converted cucumber plant produced by introducing asingle locus conversion into a plant of cucumber line API45-12T0016GY orcucumber line APD74-12T014MO, wherein said converted plant comprisessaid single locus conversion and otherwise comprises all of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of cucumber lineAPI45-12T0016GY or cucumber line APD74-12T014MO, a sample of seed ofsaid lines having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-123104and ATCC Accession Number PTA-123107, respectively.
 24. The plant ofclaim 23, wherein the single locus conversion confers a trait selectedfrom the group consisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insectresistance, pest resistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acidmetabolism, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydratemetabolism and modified protein metabolism.
 25. A method for producing aseed of a cucumber plant derived from the plant of claim 1, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) crossing a cucumber plant of hybridSV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, or line APD74-12T014MO with itself or asecond cucumber plant; a sample of seed of said hybrid and lines havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-123106, ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-123104, and ATCC Accession Number PTA-123107, respectively;and (b) allowing seed of a hybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, orline APD74-12T014MO-derived cucumber plant to form.
 26. A method ofproducing a seed of a hybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, or lineAPD74-12T014MO-derived cucumber plant, the method comprising the stepsof: (a) producing a hybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, or lineAPD74-12T014MO-derived cucumber plant from a seed produced by crossing acucumber plant of hybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, or lineAPD74-12T014MO with itself or a second cucumber plant, a sample of seedof said hybrid and lines having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-123106, ATCC Accession Number PTA-123104, and ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-123107, respectively; and (b) crossing the hybrid SV7237CN,line API45-12T0016GY, or line APD74-12T014MO-derived cucumber plant withitself or a different cucumber plant to obtain a seed of a furtherhybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, or line APD74-12T014MO-derivedcucumber plant.
 27. The method of claim 26, further comprising repeatingsaid producing and crossing steps of (a) and (b) using a seed from saidstep (b) for at least one generation to produce a seed of an additionalhybrid SV7237CN, line API45-12T0016GY, or line APD74-12T014MO-derivedcucumber plant.
 28. A method of producing a cucumber seed, the methodcomprising crossing the plant of claim 1 with itself or a secondcucumber plant and allowing seed to form.
 29. A method of producing acucumber fruit, the method comprising: (a) obtaining the plant accordingto claim 1, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity; and (b)collecting a cucumber from the plant.